


And then you honked

by kogatsky



Series: And then you honked [1]
Category: Penguin Sheith - Fandom, Sheith Big Meme - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (dead parents), F/M, M/M, Mating Season, Mention of Shiro's parents, Minor Allura/Lance (Voltron), Penguin Keith, Penguin Shiro, Penguin romance, Penguin sheith, Phiro, SHEITH BIG MEME, Sheith Big Meme 2019, i think, not abo, pallura, pance, peith - Freeform, penguin - Freeform, they're gay penguins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-14 13:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18477469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kogatsky/pseuds/kogatsky
Summary: "It was a cold day of Autumn in Antarctica. Warmer than Winter, yes, but definitely colder than Summer. Phiro was feeling a little uneasy. He wasn’t sure why. Was it because of that seasonal warmness, or perhaps his body was telling him what he needed to do now? He wasn’t sure, it was his very first time experiencing this, and sadly, he couldn’t ask anyone for advice, since his biological parents passed away before he got out of his shell, and his adoptive parents died the previous year as well. No one ever warned him about this. The only thing he could do was tiptoe around the frozen ground, and wait. Hopefully, he would end up figuring things out."





	And then you honked

**Author's Note:**

> OK first of all there are mentions of dead parents and depression episodes so be careful!!!  
> this is my fanfic for the sheith big meme. i know pheith is a classic one but i really wanted to explore this concept :D (or maybe i just didn't have better ideas haha). I want to thank @nervyire (twitter) for making the art for this!!! She's amazing and I'm so glad I could do this dumb thing w her!!! here's the art https://twitter.com/nervyire/status/1121614653182758915?s=19  
> also, my mother tongue is not english and im not living in any english speaking country so please don't judge me too much! im not used to writing (since im an artist) and even less in english, but i hope it's written decently! feel free to comment anything, hope you like it!

It was a cold day of Autumn in Antarctica. Warmer than Winter, yes, but definitely colder than Summer. Phiro was feeling a little uneasy. He wasn’t sure why. Was it because of that seasonal warmness, or perhaps his body was telling him what he needed to do now? He wasn’t sure, it was his very first time experiencing this, and sadly, he couldn’t ask anyone for advice, since his biological parents passed away before he got out of his shell, and his adoptive parents died the previous year as well. No one ever warned him about this. The only thing he could do was tiptoe around the frozen ground, and wait. Hopefully, he would end up figuring things out.

Phiro decided to observe. A good advice some older penguins had told him since he was a tiny chick was that if he wasn’t sure about what he was meant to do at some point in his life, he just needed to look around and get ideas from other experienced penguins. Then, after observing sensible and wrong acts, he would end up figuring what was the right thing. Or perhaps just the right thing for him- which was enough.

Everywhere he looked he found many penguins. Most of them were adults, actually adults around his age, 5 years old. He was used to being surrounded by hundreds of other penguins. Many of them were his friends, but today seemed to be special. Penguins seemed to feel just like Phiro did, a bit more energetic than they used to be. What was going on? Were they in danger?

Phiro’s anxiety started to become higher. He wanted to know the reason behind this strange situation. He kept looking around, seeking an answer, when he finally found some familiar beaks. That was Pance! He was a little far, but he could recognize his characteristic and energetic movements from the distance. He seemed to be very interested in an old friend of them, Pallura, more than usual. Just like his movements and his way of walking, all his behaviour was noticeably different. He seemed to be putting a lot of effort in those movements, and his whole aura felt somewhat different. Phiro was about to approach both of them, to say hi, or maybe just to ask if they knew what was going on, but when he was about to lead his way, he noticed how Pallura gave in and responded to Pance’s behaviour. Pallura shortened the distance between them and started to snuggle her head against Pance’s. After some thought, Phiro started to get an idea of what was going on. He then looked in other directions, to check if his ideas were going in the right direction, and he saw many other penguins in pairs, rubbing against each other affectionately. That’s when he figured things out. It was mating season! He wasn’t sure of the “mechanics” of it, but he knew that it was time for many penguins to find a life partner so they could share their lives together and create a family over the upcoming years.

 

He knew it wasn’t easy, since his adoptive parents died when they were looking for food for his younger brother. Taking care of a little chick was a very risky job, but it was something they had to do.

So Phiro decided to go with the flow and start looking for a partner. What was he looking for in a penguin? Was it a sense of adventure? Perhaps strength to create a solid relationship and family? Or just someone that could fill the emptiness he felt inside of his chest since he lost his parents? Anyhow, he knew this was the best moment to find someone important to him since every other penguin his age was looking for the same thing.

While he kept walking clumsily around, he stood up against many young female penguins. They were all beautiful and expecting, probably waiting for a male penguin to come and flirt with them. Phiro approached the first one he found.

-Hooonk, gaw gaw gaw.- Phiro groaned.

-Hih, gak gaw gaw gaw.- the female penguin answered, visibly offended.

Phiro backed out quickly, scared for his integrity. He figured out he wasn’t a very good boyfriend, nor the most attractive penguin, probably, but he couldn’t give up. He had to do this, right? That’s what penguins his age were supposed to do. He decided to keep searching for love.

Over the course of time, he tried to date multiple other penguins, and even if he didn’t seem to be the best lover, he made some positive advances with two of them. With the first one, he got some responses. She seemed to accept his company, but it lasted around five seconds, then she started screaming at him so he left her alone. The second one did accept him… Kind of, before she realized that it was Phiro and not her long term boyfriend. All this rejection ended up affecting him seriously. He went through a little depressive episode in which he stayed sleeping for way longer than he should. For a moment he thought he would never recover from this, that he would never find someone who liked him enough to breed. But one day something changed.

He was laying behind a big piece of ice, hiding from the world as he had been doing for a while, when he heard a very loud noise. At first he couldn’t recognize what it was, but as it continued he realized that the noise sounded a lot like a penguin screaming. He quickly got up and decided to go and explore the source of that sound, to see who made it.

When he saw the scene, he felt terrified. A pair of huge seals were attacking another penguin! He was cornered against a thick wall of ice, and he was honking and pecking them in an attempt to defend himself. Phiro didn’t have to think it twice, he started running towards them. The seals didn’t notice him until Phiro’s beak poked the butt of one of them. The seal screamed in surprise and pain, and the other penguin took the chance to poke the other’s one butt when they were distracted. They ended up running away, realizing that their chance to eat was probably ruined at this point.

Phiro sighed in relief, happy to see that they wouldn’t have to fight anymore. He checked on the other penguin, worried about his state. He carefully approached him.

 

-Ga, gak gak. (Are you OK? I’m Phiro, by the way).

-Ha, ga gah… (Hello…)- the penguin said so softly Phiro almost couldn’t hear it. Phiro observed how the other’s body was hunched over. Maybe he was just a shy penguin? Perhaps he was still scared because of the seals’ attack, or he felt threatened by Phiro.

-Gah, gah ka, ga. (Are you OK?)- Phiro asked, approaching him slowly.

-HA, WHA WHA WHA QUAK. (Stay away! Don’t come any closer!).- The penguin started to get into Phiro’s space aggressively. He began to feel intimidated, and just when he thought that the stranger would poke his skull to death, he realized that he was hiding something behind him.

-Gwa, ka ka ka. (Wait, what is that?)- he tried to stop the confrontation, but he was truly interested in knowing what was that thing he seemed to be protecting. He made the other penguin stop for a second, and finally, he could identify what was behind him. -Ha, gagak han gah. (Isn’t that an egg? Was that what you were hiding from the seals?).

-Ha guh gak. (Yes….)- the penguin sounded a little unsure at first, having trouble to completely trust the other. After briefly scanning Phiro’s figure, he decided to open up. -Go, gka kah ka. Kra ak ka. (I found this egg on its own when those seals were about to eat it. It’s probably an abandoned egg, so I’m going to take care of it).

That took Phiro out of guard. He didn’t see this coming, and he couldn’t help but get some flashbacks from his childhood. He remembered how his adoptive parents made the same thing for him, and wonders what would have happened if they never decided to take care of him. He probably wouldn’t have made it alive, so he’s really thankful for penguins like him who have a good heart. He seemed like a very genuine and good penguin, despite his defensive attitude, but he could understand it and thought that it was normal in this scenario. He decided to have a friendly attitude toward him.

Phiro stayed silent for a bit, and then he talked.

-Gah, haj kaj ka. (So, what’s your name?)- Phiro asked carefully, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

-Ha, ha ga ha jak. (My name is Peith)- he answered after looking at Phiro in silence for a moment.

  
  
  
  


Some time passed after Phiro met Peith, and he couldn’t believe how quickly things in his life changed. From the day they met, Phiro couldn’t help but visit Peith and his egg daily. He kept thinking about him and his rescued egg, until one day he decided to bring up an important topic.

-Ha, jakja ha ka. (Peith, every penguin who has an egg has someone beside them who helps the other…)- Phiro casually mentioned.

-Gaj ka ha ha. (What? Do you mean, like a mate?)- Peith asked, curiously.

-Ja, ha ka ka. (W-Well… I don’t know, I…)- Phiro said a little nervously. He didn’t know if that’s how they should label their relationship. The only thing he knew was that he felt really fond of Peith and his egg, and he wanted to take care of them. -Ha, ha ha ka qua. (I… I’m fine with that name, if that’s what you want).

Peith could feel a light blush rosing on his penguin cheeks. He nodded shyly. Was that what Phiro had been searching for that much time? Perhaps Peith was the love of his life and they could create a family together. He wasn’t sure, but he was sure of his unconditional love and protection for Peith and baby egg.

 

-Pwa ha ja kaaa. (Peith, I’ll be the one who travels to find food for the family. You can stay here taking care of the egg, alright?)

-Ga ha. (OK)- Peith responded softly. With that, Phiro turned his back, ready to part to get some food for all of them in what would be a long and very hard trip, but he was ready to do it anyway. But before he could leave, Peith honked at him.

-Ga ka ka ka. (Phiro, wait…) -Phiro looked at him again, and Peith got closer to him while keeping the egg between his legs. He was so close to Phiro that he could almost feel the other’s heart racing quickly. -Kaka ka. (Thank you for everything you’re doing for us, Phiro. It means everything to me). Without any further notice, he closed the distance between them and snuggled their heads affectionately.

Phiro felt like he was dreaming. He never thought he would find someone as beautiful, strong and loyal as Peith, and he expected even less to fall in love like this, this strongly and quickly. This seemed like a fairy tale.

He responded to the loving gesture and reluctantly left Peith’s side. He hoped that he and the egg would stay safe while he was gone. He would do anything for his new family, and he couldn’t wait to come back to them again.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> If by any chance you read the whole thing idk what to say but thanks and happy world penguin day! Also there's a tiny chance I write NSFWish penguin Sheith because for some reason the suggestion was very well accepted on my Twitter :) lemme know if you'd like it?????????  
> (((find me everywhere as @utakelis)))


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